disLEXia

Monday, 30. June 2003

Bibliography of Computer-related Crime

I have updated my 'compkrim' Bibliography available at http://md.hudora.de/jura/bib-compkrim/

It contains more than 1300 sources related to computer abuse and crime usable as a BibTeX database or as HTML for browsing pleasure.
00:04 | permanent link | mail this

2.7.: Internet und Meinungsfreiheit in China

Ich darf nochmals an den Vortrag diese Woche Mi., 02.07.2003 im Seminar für Orientalische Sprachen, Arbeitsbereich Chinesisch (1. Etage) um 16:00 Uhr erinnern. Der Vortrag "Internet und Meinungsfreiheit in China" wird von Martin Dlugosch (Übersetzer bei amnesty international) im Rahmen des Chinaforums gehalten.

Programm: http://www.china.uni-bonn.de/website_2003/projekte/chinaforum03.html

[Axel Kirch via Netzzensur]
08:38 | permanent link | mail this

Google Censorship

Some English language remarks by the Transblawg about the ongoing debate in Germany about google.com returning different result sets when beeing accessed from different countries. Read more here.

Also browse TRansblawg's archive for older pices on this subject.
08:50 | permanent link | mail this

DRM circumvention research and the German constitution.

This spring Germany got legislation to transform the 2001 European copyright directive into German law.

The new law has a DCMA-like anti-circumvention clause: § 95a of the new German UrhG prohibits circumvention of technical protection measures and the production, import, distribution, sale, rental and advertisement of circumvention devices or services.

But the German legal structure will provide notable exceptions to this: Article 5 III of the German constitution reads: "Art and science, research and teaching are free. The freedom of teaching does not release from allegiance to the constitution." This constitutional rights can only be constrained by other constitutional rights, which means practically that the § 95a UrhG can't narrow scientist's rights to do research on technical protection measures for content. The administration acknowledged this fact by stating in their reasoning for the law: "Acts of circumvention committed solely for scientific purposes (e.g. cryptography) will not be prohibited."

This will create a new battlefield at the courts about the question if certain actions constitute "scientific research" or are just acts of commercial product development. Thes will be a problem because a huge part of crypto research is not done in academic settings but by amateurs or in industry. Perhaps german researchers on DRM should create a working group with strong academic ties and publish their research through this working group documenting the scientiffic focus of their work.

May be germany will actually become a crypto-heaven by one day beeing the only (?) WIPO state which by law allows research in DRM systems.
10:38 | permanent link | mail this

Sattelite-TV Circumvention-device manufacturer sentenced to 180 Million US$

TAMPA -- A man who schemed to steal satellite television signals now has something much bigger than a cable bill to pay -- a whopping $180 million restitution order on which he is to make $500 monthly payments. [...] Steven R. Frazier also will serve five years in federal prison on a conspiracy charge. Frazier, 28, had pleaded guilty to a scheme to manufacture and sell devices that would decrypt satellite television signals and allow people to get premium service free. [...]

U.S. District Judge James Moody ordered the restitution Wednesday, based on a formula of how much Frazier's intended victims, Direct TV and Echostar, would have lost if his scheme had succeeded. The television companies estimate they could have lost $900 million in business.

"I think that's the largest one we received," said Larry Rissler, vice president of Direct TV's Office of Signal Integrity. "We take this very seriously."

Frazier of Sacramento, Calif., was arrested in Dallas in October by FBI and U.S. Customs agents while trying to board a flight to Mexico. The programming device, called the Mikobu III, which he helped design and develop, was bound for about 5,000 customers.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Tony Peluso said Frazier was no stranger to authorities when he was arrested. In 2000, he'd testified before a grand jury regarding satellite piracy and was allowed to return to California.

Instead of mending his ways, Peluso said, Frazier set out to create a better piracy system and soon was regarded among the upper echelon of international satellite pirates.

Frazier was in the middle of trying to hack Direct TV's latest satellite card and "he came within a hairbreadth" of doing so, Peluso said.

"He deserves credit for near-genius intellect," Peluso said.

Escobar disputes that his client is the masterful pirate the government describes.

Frazier was arrested in October 2002, when Customs agents tracking his operations found computer chips and hacking gear in his luggage on a flight from Canada.

Frazier again has agreed to cooperate. Peluso said there are 50 open cases stemming from the investigation.

An estimated 3 million people illegally watch satellite television using devices that unscramble satellite TV signals. The industry estimates it loses $4 billion a year in revenue.

[slashdot, heise, AP]
15:42 | permanent link | mail this

disLEXia, a research project by Maximillian Dornseif